Microsoft 365 security SharePoint Online’s Shared With column: Explained and demystified November 30, 2018 By: Vinko Bedek Last updated: May 19, 2023 3 min read SharePoint Online allows you to modify the document library by adding additional fields to expand the view for the library. One of these is called “Shared With.” If you wonder what it shows, look no further: here is a detailed explanation. Using the Shared With field functionality, do you think you will be able to see which users can access a document? Well, no, not everyone. The Shared With field in SharePoint Online is closely related to the document-sharing functionality. From what we gathered, Shared With field is populated when an email address is explicitly provided during sharing (except for ‘People with existing access’, for whom Shared With is not populated). If the resulting sharing link (for anonymous links or organization links) is used by a third user, it will not show up in the Shared With column. If you just use the copy link functionality and send the link via, e.g., Slack, then again, this user will not show up in the Shared With field. However, in both of these cases, they will still show up in the Permission details for the created link. From the screenshot above, it is clear that Adele used the organization sharing link, but she is nowhere to be found in the Sharing With field. So, if your want to see which internal users were sent a link to a document through the built-in mail functionality, then yes, Shared With is what you are looking for. If you are trying to identify all the users who have used the sharing link and can access the document, then no, this field does not provide enough information. And, of course, there is a problem since anonymous and organizational links can be freely shared. This means that a document could potentially be shared with anybody, but this will not be reflected in the Shared With field. Moreover, for external users, there is an additional condition for them to show up in this field. They will be present there when they have an associated external account in your organization’s Azure Active Directory. For reference, here is a handy table that shows how Shared With is populated when you specify an email address in the share functionality. The Shared With field will also be populated when you grant permissions on the advanced permissions page. However, if you remove the permissions for a user or group with whom you previously shared a document, the user or group will still be displayed in the Shared With column. This behavior is “by design“. The Shared With column displays any accounts that a document has ever been shared with. In conclusion, the Shared With field is probably populated through an event receiver when a user makes an effort to share a file, but it does not in any way reflect which users actually have access to the file. Security is crucial. With all the sharing options, your Microsoft 365 environment can easily become vulnerable. Syskit Point can easily detect external users throughout an environment. It can pinpoint externally shared content down to individual items. It will help you to stop the wrong people from getting access to your highly sensitive information and ensure your environment maintains its compliance with your organization’s governance policies. Discover, secure, and control M365 Manage your company’s Microsoft 365 ecosystem with Syskit Point, a scalable platform that will help you govern and secure your environment while giving you deep visibility into your entire inventory. Try for free Related Posts Microsoft 365 security Using Azure Conditional Access when security defaults isn't enough If you’re not paying attention to the best practices of security, then yo… March 18, 2021 4 min read Microsoft 365 security [Whitepaper] Introduction to SharePoint permissions management If you’re a SharePoint admin, consultant, or just new to SharePoint manag… January 20, 2017 2 min read Microsoft 365 security Office 365 security best practices – How to stay safe in 2023 Companies that moved to Office 365 have an advantage of enabling their employee… November 17, 2022 9 min read